Motor-driven vehicle.



No. 664,l60. Patented Dec, l8, I900.

' P. C. LEIDICH.

MOTOR DRIVEN VEHICLE. I (Applicat ion filed Sept. 25, 1899.) (No Model.)2 Sheets-Shea: l.

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Patent d Dec. l8, I900.

P. c. LEIDICH; MUTOR DRIVEN VEHICLE.

(Appliqation filed Sept. 26, 1899.)

2 Sheds-Sheet 2.

I (No Modul UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- PETER O. LEIDIOH, OF TAMAQUA,PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OFTHREE-EIGHTHS TO GEORGE H. FOCHT, WILLIAM WHARTON HOLLINGSWORTH, ANDMARGARET D. ATKINSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

MOTOR-DRIVEN 'VEHICLE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 664,160, dated December18, 1900. Application filed September 25, 1899. Serial No. 731,624. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, PETER O. LEIDICH, a citi- Zen of the United States,and a resident of Tamaqua, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania,

have invented certain Improvements in M0- tor-Driven Vehicles andGearing, of which the following is a specification.

The main object of my invention is to construct an improved gear bywhich shafts at an angle to each other will be geared together and yetwill allow one of the shafts to vibrate on a center without-throwing theWheels out of engagement and without increasing or diminishing the speedof the driven shaft.

A further object of my invention is to so arrange the gear in connectionwith a motordriven vehicle that both the front and back axles can bedriven and yet one of the axles so can be pivoted on a king-bolt toallow the vehicle to be turned.

My invention relates, further, to details of construction fullydescribed hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a motor-drivenvehicle embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side view.

Figs. 3 and are views of my improved gear-.

ing. Figs. 5 and 6 are details of the mechanism for clutching one ofthewheels in en- 0 gagement with the shaft, and Fig. 7 is a detail ofthe invention.

A is the vehicle-body.

B is the front axle, and D the rear axle.

b b are the front wheels, and d d are the 5 rear wheels.

It will be understood at the outset that the shape of the body can bemodified, as well as the form of the wheels, without departing from myinvention, as the structure will be designed according to the use forwhich it is intended.

G is a motor-shaft adapted to suitable bearings in the frame of thevehicle and can be driven by any suitable motor mounted on the 5vehicle-frame. I have shown back-gearing by which the speed of the mainshaft can be reduced.

On the end of the driven shaft 0 is a bevelwheel 0, which is adapted tomesh with either of the bevel-wheels c or c on the driven shaft E. Thesebevel-wheels are mounted on a sleeve C on the shaft E, so that by movingthe sleeve in one direction the wheel 0 will be in gear with the wheela, and by moving the sleeve in the opposite direction the wheel 0 willbe in gear with the wheel 0. Thus the movement of the shaft can bereversed by simply operating the sleeve.

On the shaft Eis a bevel-wheel e, meshing with a bevel-wheel d on therear axle D. The axle or shaft D is adapted to suitable fixed bearings aa on the body of the vehicle.

The front axle B is swiveled on a king-bolt b, projecting from the frameof the vehicle, so that the axle can be turned on its king-bolt or pivotto direct the course of the vehicle. On the axle of shaft B is agear-wheel B of the form clearly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, havingits face curved on a radius from the center line of the shaft and theteeth corre- 7o sponding to this curvature. Meshing with this gear is apin gear-wheel E on the end of the shaft E. .This pin-wheel has a seriesof pins e, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4, which enter the spacesbetween the teeth of the wheel B, and as the shaft E is turned a rotarymotion is imparted to the axle or shaft B through the medium of thegear-wheels E and B. It will be noticed that the spaces between theteeth of the gear-wheel Bare of an even width throughout, and toaccomplish this the teeth are tapered, being thicker at the center thanat the ends, and the teeth 6 of the wheel E enter the spaces between theteeth of the wheel B as a worm and continue this movement until theyresolve themselves at the center into a plain gear. If the axle or shaftB is turned so as to turn the vehicle, the pins 6' still remain in gearwith the wheel B, so that by this arrangement I am enabled 0 toconstruct a vehicle having two driven axles or shafts, one of which ispivoted so that the direction of travel of the vehicle can be controlledand to gear both axles to a single motor. 5

The axle B can be turned on its king-bolt or pivot by means of anoperating-handle G .on the upright shaft G, which has a gearwheel g,meshing with a segment h on the shaft'H, adapted to bearings on theframe. The shaft Gcan be locked in its adjusted position by means of thebolt g, operated by a handle 9 and this bolt is adapted to any one of aseries of openings in the frame of the vehicle.

Attached to a wheel h on the shaft H is a chain 7L2, connected to rods hwhich in turn are connected to collars b loose on the axle or shaft B,so that on turning the handle G toward the right the axle B will be soturned that the vehicle will be directed toward the right and when thehandle is turned toward the left the vehicle will be directed toward theleft.

On each axle is a loose sleeve I, having pins 1', which enter recessesin the hubs of the wheels I) and d, as clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6.These sleeves I can be moved into and out of engagement with the hubs,and as the sleeves are splined to the axles B and D they turn with themand will lock the wheels to the shafts, so that they will be driven;but. when it is wished to direct the vehicle out of a straightcourseforinstance, to make a sharp turnitis desirable to throw two ofthe driven wheels out of engagement with the shaft, as

' the wheels taking the short curve will travel over less surface thanthe wheels taking the large curve. Consequently I so arrange theshifting mechanism that when the vehicle is turned to the right theouter wheelsthat is, the wheels on the left-hand side of the vehicle-arefree to rotate on their axles and when the vehicle is turned to the leftthe wheels on the right-hand side of the vehicle are free to rotate ontheir axles. I accomplish this by connecting rods or chains to a fixedpointj on the frame of the machine and connect these rods or chains tobars J, which are attached to rings J, encircling the sleeves I.Springsj, mounted between the bearing and the ring, tend to force thering and its sleeve toward the hub, throwing the pins z into engagementwith the slots in the hub.

When the vehicle is going forward in a straight line, the normalposition of the parts is such that the pins will be in engagement withthe hubs and the hubs will turn with the axle or shaft; but if it isdesired to turn the vehicle and the operator turns the front axle Btension is applied to the rods and one of the sleeves is withdrawn fromengagement with its wheel, .so that that wheel is free to rotate on itsaxis, while the other wheel is driven by the axle. In the presentinstance the wheel making the shortest curve is free to rotateindependently of its axle.

In some instances it is not necessary to pro- Vide this-mechanism forthe rear axle; butit is desirable where possible, and to accomplish thisI extend rods or chains 7c 7r; from the bar 1) to a wheel and attach thechains at k to the said wheel. On the wheel is a projection I0 andpivoted to the frame on each side of the projection are levers Z Z,connected by rods Z to bell-crank levers Z which are in turn connectedto rods Z extending to the rear of the vehicle, and this rod in turn isconnected to a bell-crank lever 1 engaging with the bar J, connected tothe sleeve on the rear axle or shaft, so that when the front axle isturned to a certain point the Wheel 70' is also turned and acts uponeither of the levers Z Z and throws either one or the other of the rearwheels (1 out of engagement with the axle D.Thereversing-leverforshiftingthesleeve C may be carried to a suitablepoint within easy reach of the operator. Thus it will be seen that I amenabled by my improved gearing to drive both the front and rear axles ofa vehicle in which the front or rear axle is pivoted by positive drivingmechanism, and I am enabled to throw the wheels on either side out ofgear with the axles automatically by turning the steering-lever.

It will be understood that my im proved gearing may be applied to anymechanism in which it is desired to drive one shaft at an angle to adriving-shaft and at the same time to change the angle of the drivenshaft without changing the relation of the gearing.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a gearing, the combination of adriving-shaft mounted in fixed bearings and carrying a pin-wheel as apower-transmitting medium, a driven shaft pivotally mounted so as to becapable of swinging at an angle to the driving-shaft, and a wide-facedgear-wheel mounted on said driven shaft and having its teeth engaged bypins projecting from the wheel of the driven shaft, said gear-wheelhaving its periphery curved on the arc of a circle taken from the centerof the wheel, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a driving and a driven shaft, the driven shaftadapted to turn on a pivot, a gear-wheel mounted on said shaft at thepivot-p0int of the same and having a face curved on the arc of a circletaken from said pivot-point, and a wheel on the drivingshaft having pinsprojecting from its face and entering the spaces between the teeth ofthe gear-wheel on the driven shaft, said spaces being of the same widthfrom end to end, substantially as described.

3. The combination in a power-driven vehicle, of front and rear axles,one of said axles being pivoted, a driven shaft at right angles to theaxles and bevel-gears by which the axle adapted to fixed bearings isgeared to the drivadapted to the wheel and connected to the bearing ofthe front axle, so that the said front axle can be turned when the saidshaft is turned, a driving-shaft geared positively to the front and rearaxles, with means for throwing one or both wheels on one side of thevehicle out of gear with their axles, substantially as described.

5. The combination in a motor-driven vehicle, of the body, the rear axleadapted to fixed bearings, the front axle adapted to pivoted bearings, adriving-shaft, bevel-gears by which the rear axle is driven by thedriving-shaft, a universal gear by which the shaft is geared to thefront axle so that it will be always in gear therewith, means forturning the front axle and means for throwing one or both wheels on oneside of the vehicle out of gear when the vehicle is turning a curve,substantially as described. v

6. The combination of the body of a vehicle, front and rear axlestherefor, wheels loose on said axles, the hubs of said wheels havingrecesses, a sleeve on each axle having pins engaging the recesses intheir respective hubs, means for turning the front axle, and meansoperatively connected therewith whereby the pins are drawn from the hubsof the front and rear wheels on one side of the vehicle simultaneously,so that said wheels will revolve free of their axles when said frontaxle is turned, substantially as described.

7. The combination of a vehicle-body, the front axle B, rear axle D,Wheels loose thereon, the hub of each wheel having recesses, sleeves oneach axle having pins adapted to enter the recesses in the hubs, meansfor turning the front axle on its pivot, rods or chains connected to thepins and to a fixed point on the vehicle-body so that when the frontaxle is turned the pins will be withdrawn from engagement with the wheelon one side of the vehicle, a wheel is, chains passing around said wheeland coupled to the bearings of the pivoted axle, a pin projecting fromsaid wheel, levers Z Z on each side of the pin and adapted to be actedupon by said pin, said levers being coupled to the sleeves on the rearaxles so that both the front and rear wheels on one side will bedetached from their axles simultaneously, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

PETER C. LEIDICH.

Witnesses:

G. S. A. WALKER, O. S. SHINDEL.

